MISSING PERSONS - Without telling Elena (Nina Dobrev) that Stefan (Paul Wesley) is missing, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) turns to Sheriff Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre) for help finding his brother. Elena and Caroline (Candice Accola) try to find out who is covering up a campus murder, and a fellow Whitmore student named Jesse (guest star Kendrick Sampson) gives Elena some intriguing information about Professor Wes Maxfield (guest star Rick Cosnett). While Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) struggles to return to his old life, he continues to be the only person who can see and talk to Bonnie (Kat Graham), but he can't convince her that it's time to let the others know that she sacrificed her own life for his. After learning that Silas is searching for Katherine, Damon asks Matt (Zach Roerig) and Jeremy to keep her out of sight, but the situation quickly spirals out of control. Finally, Nadia (guest star Olga Fonda) uses violence to make a point about her own agenda. Joshua Butler directed the episode written by Brian Young

In the tumultuous fourth season of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, the world of Mystic Falls was turned upside down when the beautiful and compassionate Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) came face-to-face with her worst nightmare - life as a vampire.

While Elena struggled to control her new powers and the overwhelming thirst for blood, the astonishing news that a cure for vampirism may actually exist reached Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Stefan (Paul Wesley) Salvatore, the two vampire brothers who love her. Their search for the cure leads the brothers, along with Elena's brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) and her best friends Bonnie (Kat Graham) and Caroline (Candice Accola), to a horrifying confrontation with the ancient and all-powerful immortal, Silas, who has been entombed with the cure for more than 2,000 years.

But Elena isn't the only vampire who longs to return to life as a human, and the question of who will take the cure is resolved in the heart-stopping season finale, along with moments of unexpected joy, unspeakable sorrow, and a confession of true love. The series heads into its fifth season with some characters headed off to college, a newly cured vampire trying to survive as a human, and a shocking Salvatore secret.

Based on the series of books by L. J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Outerbanks Entertainment, Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios. The series was developed by Kevin Williamson ("The Following," "Scream") & Julie Plec ("Kyle XY," "Wasteland"), who serve as executive producers along with Leslie Morgenstein ("Gossip Girl," "Pretty Little Liars") and Caroline Dries ("Melrose Place," "Smallville").